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Craig Mattick:
Welcome to another edition of In Play. I'm Craig Mattick. Today's guest is one of the all time basketball greats. He played in the varsity when he was an eighth grader. He is the oldest of three brothers who led their team to the state tournament multiple times. He still has several state tournament scoring records. He was one of the top scorers in history at the University of South Dakota. And today, well, he's back at his alma mater as superintendent for the school and town that he loves. He broke a 50-year-old scoring mark in South Dakota and he is the all time leading scorer in South Dakota High School boys basketball, 3,521 points. He's White River's Louie Krogman. King Louie. Louie, welcome to In Play.
Louie Krogman:
Craig, happy to be here.
Craig Mattick:
Who gets the credit for the nickname King Louie? Who was the first one that put that on you?
Louie Krogman:
Oh my gosh, I have no idea. I think it was a newspaper. I could be wrong, but I think it was a newspaper. I'd like to say the Rapid City Journal, but not really sure. It's sure one that has stuck though.
Craig Mattick:
White River is about 24 miles south of Murdo there on Highway 83 in Mellette County, population 533. But you started playing on the varsity in the eighth grade. What was going on as an eighth grader playing basketball at White River?
Louie Krogman:
Well, there wasn't a lot of basketball tradition. We hadn't won a State B championship since 1955. Basketball is something that I always loved, had success at it from an early age, and I know my seventh grade year we had a scrimmage and we played the eighth graders and I had 55 points. So they decided, "Well, if we're going to move somebody up, we might as well move up this kid." It was a hot debate. I know because I believe I was the first boy to ever be moved up in White River history there. Didn't play at the varsity level as an eighth grader, but luckily the school board saw it the way they did and district administration supported it and just thankful they were able to make that call and it was just a heck of a start to a career.
Craig Mattick:
When did you get the growing spurt? When did you finally get the six-foot tall? Was it pretty early or was it a little bit later for you?
Louie Krogman:
God, I don't know if I ever had a growing spurt. I don't think I'm a giant by any means, but I know I was about five foot eight when I was an eighth grader, and I think about sophomore year is when I started to get a little bit taller and stretch out a little bit, thank God. So definitely not big stature right now, but yeah, I did get to that six foot, six one. I think I played at my rest of my career, so could have used a few more. But hey, I'm not going to complain, I guess.
Craig Mattick:
When did you really start though playing a lot of basketball? Was it in the summer where you would just shoot and shoot and shoot, find a rim to play? I mean, when was that?
Louie Krogman:
I think I grew up loving the game. My dad used to just play recreationally here in White River and he used to open the gym and I would come in and just shoot on the side baskets with him and then eventually when I got a little bit bigger, I'd get to play against the grownups and I could always make it. I could usually make a shot if I was open and stuff like that. So kind of natural that way. But I really never played an actually organized game until I was a fourth grader, which it sounds hard to believe nowadays because kids are playing from the time they can walk, it seems. But fourth grade was my first time and we went to a little tournament out in Lower Brule and I still remember it like it was yesterday. We played a team from Chamberlain and they beat us, but I was fortunate enough to have eight three pointers in 33 points, so it was a good start there too.
Craig Mattick:
Eldon Marshall became the coach at White River in 2003. I think you were maybe, what, a seventh grader at the time?
Louie Krogman:
No. I was the eighth grader. Both we came at the same time. His first year coaching was my first year playing at the varsity level.
Craig Mattick:
What was White River basketball like when Eldon got there?
Louie Krogman:
It undergone some changes, not the greatest changes. It was not good. I believe the team won two games prior, the year before. It wasn't really a tradition. It definitely wasn't something that everybody did. It wasn't something that was highly regarded. I remember just there wasn't much tradition there. I hadn't been to a state tournament for a while, and so it was kind of struggling. So it definitely, it needed a new regime change, I guess is what people would say.
Craig Mattick:
Well, look at White River now. They have made it to the Boys State Basketball Tournament every year since 2006. That is totally amazing.
Louie Krogman:
Yeah, it's hard to believe. There's not a kid in our district or not a kid that goes to school here that has been alive the last time White River didn't make it, so it's quite impressive.
Craig Mattick:
So it's 2006, Eldon has been there about three years now. You're a sophomore. White River makes it to the State Boys Basketball Tournament for the first time in 13 years. How excited was the town that year?
Louie Krogman:
Oh, the town was very excited. We actually played our region game against Wall out in Sturgis and played in the old gym there. I just remember we had beaten Wall before and felt good going into the game, but still had a few nerves. Luckily, we all were able to play together and do a good job and come out victorious, so everybody was really excited. The whole town was excited. No one cared how we did. We just were so excited to make and we ended up going to the state and getting forth that year, but probably should have even done a little bit better. We let one slip away that second round game, but...
Craig Mattick:
Yeah. Well, you beat Dolan Condie the first game and you whooped him up pretty good, but then you come up with Faith and you lost by, I think, 14. Was Luke Enos in that game for Faith at the time?
Louie Krogman:
Yep. Luke played in that game. Yeah, he was my age. Luke same age as me. We played traveling basketball together in the summer. We both played on the Schoolers. Well, I guess Luke was a year older than me, excuse me. But yeah, he played and he had a bunch of brothers that played too, and Faith had a really solid team and I believe they took second that year. But I'm pretty sure we had a sizable lead at halftime and we let it slip away. That was one of two that we did that with.
Craig Mattick:
Well, the next day you play for third and you lost to Sully Buttes.
Louie Krogman:
Sully Buttes. Exactly.
Craig Mattick:
A team that you would see several times over the next few years.
Louie Krogman:
Yes, yes. And that started a very unique rivalry with Sully Buttes that year as well, and it never really stopped.
Craig Mattick:
2007, you're a junior and you're averaging 31 points a game. What was special about White River your junior year? Was it any different than your sophomore year?
Louie Krogman:
I think it was just trying to show the community that it wasn't a fluke the year before that we could really continue to maintain what we had started. And of course the goal was to win districts, win regions and then make it to another state tournament and just let the chips fall where they will once you make it. So we had a good team and had guys that played a lot of basketball and once again, we're fortunate enough to state.
Craig Mattick:
Well, it's your junior year and already eighth grader or ninth grader or 10th grader, you're just racking up points. You are just a scoring machine. You're moving up the ladder in career points, I mean everybody talking about it. And then comes December 20th, 2007, Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City. It's the Lakota National Invitational and you're playing Pine Ridge. You need 23 points to break the 50-year-old scoring record by Lake Norden's Don Jacobsen. Leading up to that season though, with that scoring record, was it always on your mind?
Louie Krogman:
No, the only time the scoring record was on my mind, and this is God's honest truth is the game that I broke it. I never thought about it. I never kept track of how many points it was. People had told me, of course, but our coach Eldon always kept us focused, kept us driven, but that was the only time, the first and the last time that he ever mentioned it to our team was that game. And he said, "Louie has an opportunity to break this scoring title." He looked at me and he said, "Let's get it out of the way early and let's go out and handle our business." So really, and luckily I had a good game that game and we could get it done early.
Craig Mattick:
There was just over a minute to go in the first half and you're standing at the free throw line needing one point to break the record. What emotions were you going through at the time?
Louie Krogman:
Oh, I can't lie. It was definitely one of those heart pounding moments where you don't care how it happens, you just want the ball to go through the rim one more time. And luckily, I got lucky on my second free throw there because I short armed the first one and the ball bounced around a little bit and finally went through. It had a few other times and got to celebrate with family and got to celebrate with my teammates and just always be indebted to the people that put on that performance during the game out of LNI because it still gives me goosebumps to this day just how much respect and how much appreciation there was there that night and how awesome the people are out there and how awesome the whole ordeal was. So I'm still indebt to everybody who was part of that.
Craig Mattick:
Louie, there was so much attention that was paid to you. How did you deal with it?
Louie Krogman:
I really had great parents. I mean, to tell you the truth, we never really talked about basketball. We never talked about those things. I'm just a small town ranch kid, still am to this day. You get up and you do chores, you work, you do what's important and if you're lucky enough to have some success other way, other places, then you just do it and you keep your head down and you keep moving forward. So that's how I've always looked at it. I'm no better than anybody else. I just put in a lot of hard work and had a lot of really good support from other people and well, I was fortunate enough to be put in the position that I was, so.
Craig Mattick:
White River makes it back to the state tournament that year pretty much. You had the same team that you had the year before, if I remember?
Louie Krogman:
Yeah, yeah. We lost a few guys that were really crucial and we had a few young guys that took some lumps the year before and really learned from them. One of them, my brother Jake, he probably had his growth spurt too about that time and he turned into a really good player and contributed a lot for us as a sophomore that year. And it was nice to have some young guys step up.
Craig Mattick:
Yeah, that first round you beat Armour a very good team. You beat Armour by seven, but then darn it, that semi-final you lose to the eventual state champ. Hurley a four point game, which was such a tough back and forth game.
Louie Krogman:
Yeah, that was my junior year. Yeah, we lose to Viborg-Hurley, we're up 20 at halftime. They come out dominate the paint. We can't get a dang rebound and they end up beating us. Still one of the games I regret to this day the most and then Viborg-Hurley, they end up winning the whole thing. But I had a couple friends that played for them, so it was nice to see them get their championship and then you're just left wondering if it's going to happen for you. But...
Craig Mattick:
Yes. Well, you beat Sully Buttes for third place, kind of a revenge against Sully Buttes. But I mean you win by five but you put 50 up there, Louie.
Louie Krogman:
Yeah, one of those games again that you're going to get in a rhythm and you see the ball go through a couple of times and then after that you know you're just playing and doing what you love. So yeah, just fortunate I had teammates that would pass me the ball and guys that would rebound it for me when I did miss.
Craig Mattick:
Sully Buttes didn't try to double team you at all? I mean what was going on?
Louie Krogman:
I don't know. I don't know. They might've tried. We really got out pushing the ball up and down and I think there wasn't a lot that was going to help. I'll just tell you that.
Craig Mattick:
Well, for that tournament, the record still stands. You scored 125 points in those three tournament games. That record is still there. I'm sure you thought though that you had a team that year that probably should have won the title.
Louie Krogman:
I knew that Mitchell Christian had a really good team. We had played them earlier in the year and they had handled us pretty easy at the Corn Palace, so I knew if we had to play them it'd be tough. But just would've loved the opportunity to get to that championship game and to be up as many points as we were at halftime and then to kind of choke there in the semi-finals was tough, but I was glad that we were able to at least finish the season on a win and get that third place victory.
Craig Mattick:
So it's the summer before your senior year, you know that White River will have a team to contend for the title. Did you do anything different in that summer to get ready for the basketball season?
Louie Krogman:
Just did my same routine that I had been doing for years. Just really work on your individual game. Really fine tune everything. Get a lot of shots up, get a lot of close in, mid-range, three pointer. I mean, just did the same old thing that I had always done. Spent a lot of time honing my craft. Not so much flashy, but really just work on getting to your spot, getting to where you want go on the court and being able to finish from any kind of angle. And then of course, you want to work on your body and stay in shape and hit the weights and everything like that so that you're able to play through contact and then finish games in the fourth quarter.
Craig Mattick:
All of your teammates knew that you could hit a shot from anywhere at any time. But how about your coach? How about Eldon Marshall? Did he give you pretty much free rein to shoot anywhere, anytime?
Louie Krogman:
Eldon was a little tougher than that. Never really. I came out and said he gave me free rein, but I definitely, I took it upon myself some games to assume that I have free rein. But I think we had a good understanding where it wasn't new to him. When he's there in practice every day and we're working on things or we're having open gym or we're battling against each other, I'm making a lot of those same shots. And so it's not... Those might look like bad shots to the outsider, but he probably knew, well, I've seen him make so many. And then that's how you also get confidence too, right, is you do it in practice, you do it in open gyms. No one's coming into a game and jacking up shots that are going in and they're surprised. You're taking shots that you practice and that you're confident in. And some of those shots might seem high degree of difficulty to some people, but if you're really confident you have practiced them, I think that those are good shots and you live with the result.
Craig Mattick:
2008 your senior year, you make it back to the state tournament. Maybe some of the frustrations of games, the two years before maybe that came out in this tournament because you guys flowed right through that tournament. You beat Scotland in the first game by 12. You beat Sully Buttes. You played them again. This is one time in the semi-finals. You beat them by 14 and then you're in the championship game. The first time in a long time for White River, and it's against Langford. Did you feel any pressure yourself that you had to go out there and win that game?
Louie Krogman:
I don't really think I did, to be honest with you. There wasn't really a sense of pressure. I was really confident in our team. I was really confident that if we could just get to the championship, that we would be able to will ourselves to victory because we had been there, we had experience playing in Aberdeen. I was coming off. I felt really good as an individual player. Had really a lot of confidence in my teammates and we were kind of clicking on all the right cylinders at that time. So wasn't really a lot of pressure, but just more focused than anything. Like, "Okay, we're here. Let's get the job done. This is our last chance. Leave it all on the..." There's something to be said about that when it's the last game no matter what. It kind of takes the pressure off you because you really have nothing to lose.
It's maybe a weird way to think about it for an outside person, but until you're in a situation like that and it played so many games like I have, you just resort back to what you know and that's going out and playing as hard as you can and understanding that if you do it everything that you possibly can to win, then you can't lose. So even if the result isn't right, you're going to go out and you're going to play as hard as you can and it's going to, the best team wins. And I thought that we had the best team, so I was not too nervous.
Craig Mattick:
You set a tournament record, which still stands today. You scored 45 in that game against Langford, you won it by 16. So you finished with 3,521 points in your high school career.
Louie Krogman:
Yeah.
Craig Mattick:
Records are made to be broken, Louie. You've heard that over and over, but this record here may be one of the toughest ones ever to beat.
Louie Krogman:
Well, yeah, that's funny. That's funny you say that. I have no doubt someday some kid will come along and break it. I mean they're always changing the game somehow. The shot clock is the welcome edition. Something I wish we would've had when we were playing. There's a lot more possessions nowadays, a lot more free movement than there was when I was playing against teams that would slow it down and do the stall deal a little bit, but I'm 100% sure that I'll see that record broke in my lifetime and I'll be honored to pass it on to the next person whenever that is.
Craig Mattick:
How cool was it that you got to play with your brother Jake? Won a title together and of course, your other brother Wyatt. I think Wyatt won a couple of titles with White River, too. Did Jake have two titles as well?
Louie Krogman:
Yeah, I have the least amount of titles than my brothers as they like to remind me.
Craig Mattick:
Oh, they do.
Louie Krogman:
Yeah. I was only fortunate to get one my senior year. My brother Jake won his sophomore year and his senior year, and then my brother Wyatt, he outdid all of us and he got three titles, so he won. He played. He didn't know anything. He always finished his season playing in the championship game. He played, got second as an eighth grader, first as a freshman, second as a sophomore, first as a junior, and first as a senior. So they had quite the impressive run while he was in there. So yeah, as far as my family's concerned, I'm kind of looked at the loser of the bunch.
Craig Mattick:
How many colleges were calling on you?
Louie Krogman:
There was a lot of different rules back then with the recruiting and the social media wasn't as popular. I got my fair share of colleges. Nothing major, of course, just the in-state schools of course, and a few other smaller low major Division 1 schools from out state. But just having the opportunity, of course, I'm a South Dakota guy. I always have been. I like being on the ranch. I like being close to home. So having the opportunity to go down to USD and be able to play right away was really intriguing to me. And also to play for a program that was having a lot of success at the time was also important.
Craig Mattick:
Yeah, Dave Boots was the coach. Everyone loves Dave Boots. What a great guy he was and great coach.
Louie Krogman:
Absolutely. Yeah.
Craig Mattick:
Coyotes playing in the Great West Conference, if everybody remembers. That was before they moved up to a Division 1 in the Summit League. You started 28 of 29 games as a freshman.
Louie Krogman:
Yeah.
Craig Mattick:
In fact, you were the leading scorer for the Coyotes, your very first game as a freshman. Remember that game against Cornell?
Louie Krogman:
Yeah, we were out in Cornell and my dad and a couple of his buddies made the long trek out to Ithaca, New York and was there for the first game and we got to play a Cornell team that was... They were a really good team. They just won the Ivy League championship and they raised the banner right before the game started. I came in a little bit nervous of course, and I remember getting subbed out early in the first half and my assistant coach came and he goes, "We did not recruit you to pass the ball, so do what you got to do and let's score some points."
Craig Mattick:
Well, you scored 20.
Louie Krogman:
I'll forever love that quote from Coach Joey James when he pulled me aside and said that they didn't bring me here to pass it. So that was all I needed to hear and tried to do what I did best after that.
Craig Mattick:
What was the biggest difference in the offense at USD when you compare it to what you played at White River?
Louie Krogman:
Well, it was just different. You're around guys that the level of talent that you're playing with and alongside is a lot better. You got to make sure that those guys have their opportunities too. Defenses in college, they really get back. They really slow the game down. They make you play against the set defense every single time down, which makes it a little bit tougher. You really have to learn how to play in the half court and you're less ball dominant in college. You probably have one or two dribbles before you need to make a decision and that decisions usually pass or take the open shop and you just got to get used to the flow of the game. And really thinking ahead is really important, especially a guy who's undersized like me, is understanding when you're open, before you're open, and also understanding when you do get it, what the defense is thinking and try to go against the grain a little bit and maybe create on your own if you're able to.
Craig Mattick:
Well, when you were a freshman at USD, you had five guys on that team that were scored in double figures. You had 12 a game. You guys go 20 and nine on the season, you have a great year. Your sophomore year though, you only averaged nine points a game. What changed?
Louie Krogman:
Well, I struggled with some injuries my sophomore year, to be honest. I hurt my knee that summer. Probably needed to get it corrected but didn't really get around to it. Tried to rehab and tried to push through it. And then about a quarter of the way through the season, it just really, really flared up. And so that was the first time I had ever dealt with any kind of injury. So that was a learning experience in itself right there to really take time to rest and make sure your body's right because without that you're not going to be as successful. But the team had really great success that year. I believe I ended up six man of the year in the conference and we won the conference and finished up playing against Creighton in one of the college basketball insider tournament that we were invited to. So from a team aspect, it was a really fun year, but there were just some struggles there on an individual level that I was not accustomed to dealing with.
Craig Mattick:
14 points a game, your junior year, 16 points a game, your senior year, but talk about some of the guys who you played with those last two years, like Charlie Westbrook and Trevor Gruis. I mean some of these guys that would come in, go double figures and just be great players to play with.
Louie Krogman:
Yeah, I love those guys. Charlie came in from a junior college, my junior year. It was great to get to know him. Tremendous athlete, tremendous player. A guy that could really do it all there. Fun to play with. Took a lot of the pressure off me. It was fun. Some teams would game plan for him and some teams would game plan for me. And so we really worked well together that way. And then Trevor, he came in my junior year as well as a freshman. Just so raw and so much natural ability. His hands were so good as a center and he could run the floor and finish and he was really fun to play with. He's still a great friend to this day. We played a couple of years together and still talk regularly.
In fact, he's back on his family farm in Ellsworth, Minnesota, and they buy our heifer cabs now, so it's funny there to see where everything has come full circle. But yeah, he's a good friend too, so just got to know a lot of great guys down there and make some lifelong friends. People I talk to every day, still from down at the U.
Craig Mattick:
Yeah. And your brother Jake, even followed you all the way down to Vermilion.
Louie Krogman:
Jake came down there. Yeah, he did. He was down there. Me and Jake roomed together for a couple of years and he was a walk on for a couple of years for Coach Boots. It was fun to have him around and let him be part of the team as well. And he had a lot of good friends down there.
Craig Mattick:
You are number six-all time in scoring at USD, just over 1,600 points. Number two all time in three point shots made, only 15 behind Josh Mueller. By the way, you made 10 three-pointers against Houston Baptist, which is still a record. Do you remember that game?
Louie Krogman:
Yeah.
Craig Mattick:
Where was that game played?
Louie Krogman:
I remember that game. That was down in Houston. Yep, that was down in Houston. That was one of those games where you feel like anything you throw up is going to go in. So it's fun to get a couple of those and to have one in a Division 1 college game.
Craig Mattick:
You were recruited to shoot the ball, Louie, remember that.
Louie Krogman:
You're recruited to shoot the ball. Exactly. I don't know how I kept finding myself so open, but I did. And thankfully, it was going in that night.
Craig Mattick:
What was it like playing in the Dakota Dome?
Louie Krogman:
Dakota Dome was special. Such a unique experience. Some games we'd have a ton of fans and then some games if it'd be to over Christmas break, there'd be hardly anybody there. And it's such a big venue that you have to figure out a way to get yourself fired up for the game. So you learn a lot. I mean, if you can shoot in the Dakota Dome, you can definitely shoot the ball because there's a lot of space in there. And the ball is a pretty small object if you compare it to the whole size of the dome. So I am thankful that they have upgraded their basketball venue and it's much needed and very improved, but there's something about the old dome that you kind of miss just because it's such a unique home experience.
Craig Mattick:
You were inducted into the Coyote Sports Hall of Fame in 2022, inducted into the South Dakota High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023. What do those honors mean to you, Louie?
Louie Krogman:
Just remarkable. To be a first ballot inductee and to the Coyote Sports Hall of Fame is just something I never dreamed of. I just forever grateful to everybody down at the U who had faith in me and who continued to have faith in me to this day, and let me be part of their prestigious crew. So that was really fun. And then on the flip side, to be able to go in there and be inducted into the high school basketball hall of fame and to be able to share both of those experiences. Now, I'm in a whole different role. I gained a different title during this time as a father and be able to share those experiences with my children and with my family and just take them down a path that probably they weren't around for and then to answer questions for them, it just brought up a lot of old feelings and really fun stuff.
Craig Mattick:
At some point you decided you wanted to get into education, when was that?
Louie Krogman:
That was about after my sophomore year of college. I knew then I wanted to come back home and be part of the ranch. My mother was a teacher. Four out of her five sisters were teachers. My grandmother was a teacher. Her father, my grandfather, he was a longtime superintendent and principal and educator. So I looked at, held teachers with really a lot of respect and in high regard. So I thought that would be something fun to do. Never really thought about the administrative side of it until after teaching for a few years and you have to continue to re-certify your teacher's license. So I was taking classes and wanted the classes to be meaningful, so I thought I'd try some administrative classes and was able to do well there. And just the right doors opened up at the right time and just thankful to the people around here and the district that they have faith in me and my judgment and let me try to lead the district.
Craig Mattick:
Where were some of the spots where you were a teacher before the job at White River opened up?
Louie Krogman:
Oh, let's see. I did my student teaching in Vermilion there at the high school. So I started there and then I came back home and I was a teacher at Todd County High School for three years. So I got the opportunity to cut my teeth down there and learn how to motivate students and really how to plan a lesson and how to be proactive in your profession. And then I got a job in White River, my hometown, and taught there for four years. And then the middle school principal job opened up and I was the middle school principal for two years before Mr. Cameron retired, and he was the one that urged me to apply for the position of superintendent. I thought, well, I'm not ready for it. But with his support and the support of some others that they thought, they put their faith in me and so I threw my hat in and thankfully got the position.
Craig Mattick:
So being the superintendent of White River, how important is that to you and what can you bring to White River your alma mater as the superintendent of the school?
Louie Krogman:
Oh, I think I can bring someone who's passionate. I can bring somebody who... I have young children in the district. I'm committed not just because this is my hometown, but because I love the people here. I love the families. I understand what people go through. I understand the sacrifices that people make and I think that makes it all the more meaningful when you have friends and when you have relatives that are invested alongside you, you want to bring your best self to work every day and just trying to give back every day in a positive way is really important.
Craig Mattick:
Got a couple more questions for Louie Krogman. You've been superintendent at White River now for, is it two years? Is it?
Louie Krogman:
This is my second year. Yes.
Craig Mattick:
Second year. How weird is it? You're the superintendent and you're kind of Eldon Marshall's boss, isn't it? The coach you played for? He's still there at White River.
Louie Krogman:
Oh, it's not too weird. Not too weird. I definitely don't try to get in the way during his practices and I think he's got the basketball thing covered. So that makes part of my job a lot easier. Sometimes people ask me, "Are you ever thinking about getting into coaching?" And I say, "We have a pretty good coach right now, so I think I'll leave it to the experts on that."
Craig Mattick:
You've got three daughters, if I remember, any big time scorers coming from the daughters?
Louie Krogman:
Oh, time will tell. Time will tell. My oldest, she's a first-grader and she does some of the country conference stuff and let's just say, it's not her first love yet. She definitely likes Barbies and she definitely likes the dress up. But my mom, she has always told me, "Kids change and don't worry, she'll probably figure out basketball soon enough." So we're definitely giving her the opportunity, but it's just something fun for everybody else to bring people together again. So she does not like it when dad tries to coach her. I can tell that.
Craig Mattick:
Yeah. Okay.
Louie Krogman:
I have to sit on the sidelines and just do a lot of thumbs up when it really should be the other way around.
Craig Mattick:
History shows the Class B Boys Basketball Tournament is the tournament in South Dakota. in Aberdeen, of course, you helped pack that arena at state basketball games. What was it like playing before a pack walks arena in Aberdeen during the State B?
Louie Krogman:
It's something that you don't really notice. I don't, anyway, I guess when I'm out there playing, I'm so focused on the task at hand, maybe that I forget to maybe cherish some of those things, but it does stand out on tape. You watch the video and it's like, "Wow, there were a lot of people there." And then of course you hear the stories from the crowd afterwards and they tell you how many people were lined up around the block and all of those stories and it's like, "Wow." I knew there was a lot of people, but I didn't know it was to the level that it was and just super cool. That just speaks. That's South Dakota though. That's South Dakota people spending their hard-earned money to come out to do something that they love. And you hit the nail on the head when you said the Class B Boys Tournament is the premier event in South Dakota and it still is to this day.
Craig Mattick:
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